How well are these truck tires balanced at the factory?

[dctackett10]

8 hours ago, tbarn said:

For those who may care.

https://gm-techlink.com/?p=7276

Thanks tbarn

[MDSilveradoGuy]

My '22s were delivered separately from the truck, and the truck came in on the steel shipping wheels.

 

My wonderful dealer put them on my truck and apparently didn't balance them at all. It had to go back right after I got it and get quite a bit of weight added to each wheel to balance it.

[UncleDave]

I have approximately 2000 miles on my Custom with the 20-inchers, and so far they have been smooth as silk. Maybe I just got lucky?

[Zach-91]

15 hours ago, Thomcat said:

I guess I'll find out how good this road force balancing is on 22" low profiles.. dealer's scheduled mine for Thurs, the earliest time the machine and tech are available....no test ride, took my word based on description........regardless, the balance and alignment services are offered under the warranty for the first 12K miles.

 

Seems to me to be a balance problem....pretty specific up/down pulsing vibration on the front axle starts at 62 worst at 65 and disappears at 68+ regardless of road surface, moderate on asphalt, worse on concrete ........definitely speed related same results in 8th as in 6th gear, same whether 2WD, AWD or 4WD. I had marked the tires to the rims when new and at 1500 miles one of the fronts has apparently walked a few inches on the rim, probably all that playing on hairpin turns and braking in sport mode.

 

Anxious to see how it's done, dealer has a corridor the length of the service bays with portals so you can watch the tech work on your vehicle without technically being in the work area where customers are not permitted unless accompanied by the service rep.

Let me know how it goes. Waiting on the dealer to get me a loaner lined up as I am having the same exact problem. 22's as well. Although mine doesn't really go away until 80+. definitely worst at 65. mostly unnoticeable below 60. 

[Thomcat]

26 minutes ago, Zach-91 said:

Let me know how it goes. Waiting on the dealer to get me a loaner lined up as I am having the same exact problem. 22's as well. Although mine doesn't really go away until 80+. definitely worst at 65. mostly unnoticeable below 60. 

As mentioned in previous post the optional 22"s are dealer mounted and replace the steel transport wheels. Had asked why no road force balance at the time of wheel replacement and said they won't do it on a new car with less than 50 miles because it can't be done properly until the tires are "broken in" and fully seated; no problem doing mine at over 1K miles. Also said to ask and they will redo at the time of the first tire rotation under warranty.

 

No loaner for me......I'm waiting and watching.

Edited September 10, 2019 by Thomcat

[Zach-91]

13 minutes ago, Thomcat said:

As mentioned in previous post the optional 22"s are dealer mounted and replace the steel transport wheels. Had asked why no road force balance at the time of wheel replacement and said they won't do it on a new car with less than 50 miles because it can't be done properly until the tires are "broken in" and fully seated; no problem doing mine at over 1K miles. Also said to ask and they will redo at the time of the first tire rotation under warranty.

 

No loaner for me......I'm waiting and watching.

When I went for the 1st test drive, it was like riding in a shopping cart with a flat tire. truck had been on the lot for almost 5 months so they suggested it was flat spots. They swapped the set with another truck on the lot (about 2 months ago). I then tried to take it in 5 weeks ago on an online appointment to get it done and the service manager told me they have to plan on keeping the truck for a few days to diagnose a vibration so I had to wait until a loaner was available. Called last week as I still had not heard back from them about getting a appointment setup which I thought was getting a bit ridiculous so they are working on getting one setup for this week. I'm at 1350 miles now, was at 500 the first time I went in and they told me they weren't allowed to touch tires until after 500. I do believe the tires are the issue, just really hoping the road force balancing either fixes it or exposes the problem so they get some replacements on. Fine with either, just want the vibration gone, haha

[Jsdirt]

Flat spots, lol - typical dealership. That was common in the bias-ply days. Not so much anymore, unless the tires are REAL cheap pieces of garbage.

[Wheelguy]

54 minutes ago, Jsdirt said:

Flat spots, lol - typical dealership. That was common in the bias-ply days. Not so much anymore, unless the tires are REAL cheap pieces of garbage.

Any bets on Goodyear?

[Thomcat]

2 hours ago, Zach-91 said:

When I went for the 1st test drive, it was like riding in a shopping cart with a flat tire. truck had been on the lot for almost 5 months so they suggested it was flat spots. They swapped the set with another truck on the lot (about 2 months ago). I then tried to take it in 5 weeks ago on an online appointment to get it done and the service manager told me they have to plan on keeping the truck for a few days to diagnose a vibration so I had to wait until a loaner was available. Called last week as I still had not heard back from them about getting a appointment setup which I thought was getting a bit ridiculous so they are working on getting one setup for this week. I'm at 1350 miles now, was at 500 the first time I went in and they told me they weren't allowed to touch tires until after 500. I do believe the tires are the issue, just really hoping the road force balancing either fixes it or exposes the problem so they get some replacements on. Fine with either, just want the vibration gone, haha

Some dealer you've got there! What's to diagnose first.....if entitled to get a free wheel balance under warranty, just schedule it for a wheel balance only and don't leave the place until you have an appointment for the balance? If you still have the vibration after the balance, then you can leave it.

 

No loaner was even mentioned, they'll do it while I watch and wait polishing off their donuts and coffee. The advisor even made a tentative appointment for me a week later for longer further diagnosis with their electronic detection equipment should the vibration still persist after the balance at which time they'll do a diagnosis the same day. And never a problem with a loaner, always plenty of new and used cars in the lot I can take home to see if my wife likes the color or if they'll fit in my garage.

[Thomcat]

1 hour ago, Jsdirt said:

Flat spots, lol - typical dealership. That was common in the bias-ply days. Not so much anymore, unless the tires are REAL cheap pieces of garbage.

I always test at least half a dozen cars before buying, and although not as bad as the bias belted, there is some flat spotting on radials on cars especially those on the lot for a few months that haven't been moved. The difference is the flat spots on the radials, even in the Winter,  work out in about a 1/4 mile whereas the old bias belted hung onto it for a long time.

[ct_corey]

My trail boss has a slight seat vibration at around 60 but doesn't do it all the time. Makes me think is something with the suspension and imperfections in the road. Doesn't make sense to be a tire or wheel issue if it only happens sometimes. 

[Grumpy Bear]

32 minutes ago, ct_corey said:

My trail boss has a slight seat vibration at around 60 but doesn't do it all the time. Makes me think is something with the suspension and imperfections in the road. Doesn't make sense to be a tire or wheel issue if it only happens sometimes. 

Hang on to that thought. It's rational. they're in short supply. 

 

There's this piece of road that had me convinced I had a balance issue. Had a balance. Issue persisted. Then they repaved the road and it went away.  

[Zach-91]

1 hour ago, Thomcat said:

Some dealer you've got there!

tell me about it. this is the 2nd dealer i've dealt with in the area as well. Other one gave me the run around on my 2015 for a few issues. 

 

1 hour ago, Wheelguy said:

Any bets on Goodyear?

bridgestone alenza's

 

19 minutes ago, Grumpy Bear said:

Hang on to that thought. It's rational. they're in short supply. 

 

There's this piece of road that had me convinced I had a balance issue. Had a balance. Issue persisted. Then they repaved the road and it went away.  

One nice thing is that they are in the middle of repaving the interstate next to this dealer so it is fresh asphalt and the vibration is there as well as the existing a few miles away. 

[Thomcat]

1 hour ago, ct_corey said:

My trail boss has a slight seat vibration at around 60 but doesn't do it all the time. Makes me think is something with the suspension and imperfections in the road. Doesn't make sense to be a tire or wheel issue if it only happens sometimes. 

Wheel imbalance only shows up sometimes, feels like an up down humping and depending upon wheel, tire and amount of imbalance. Typically in the 55 - 65 mph range and almost imperceptible out of that range. Imperfections of the road aggravate the condition, much less on smooth asphalt, worse on concrete roads.

 

Overall condition is worse if imbalance is on a front tire.

 

Smooth new road may appear to eliminate a less severe condition, only way is to try it again on a concrete road or rough surface in that typical speed range......or don't bother and drive on asphalt 100% of the time.

Edited September 10, 2019 by Thomcat

[jay webb]

On 9/8/2019 at 6:26 PM, Grumpy Bear said:

Road force balance. Hum... I believe that is a technique that permits tires that should be on a scrap pile to remain on the road. In 50 years of driving I've never had a need. Meaning I never had a tire that would not spin balance go on one of my cars/truck. Yes that means I have rejected some tires but very few. I also reject tires that take an abnormal amount of weight to balance. Now dad has 25 years on me and finally ran across a set that balanced out nicely with minimal weight but felt out. After several attempts and going so far as to match balance them they now have a life on a farm wagon. So between us over 125 combine years, not a single road force balance required. 

 

I expect the first person to reply to this post will have had 20 sets in a row. Good for you! 

 

My current set has 100K on them and almost half the tread left. 5K rotations, 10K spin balance. Factory rubber and rims

 

 

its not a matter of balancing the tire/wheel . sometimes the combination of the tire and the run out of the rim/wheel when mounted together creates a force against the road that causes a vibration that can be felt through the vehicle. it is typically worst as we get to big /taller tires with smaller sidewalls. such as 20s, 22s which are stock sizes on GM trucks. the 14-18s (19s on the 2500s) have stiffer frames and stiffer /different body mounts then in previous generation of trucks. due to this they are more prone to feeling the effects of high road force vibration. you can balance a wheel and tire to perfectly balanced that dont mean it dont have a road force issue. typically this is caused by manufacturing of the tire. could have a hard spot/belt issue in the tire that is other wise safe to be on the road that creates this. i have done many many road force vibrations for these trucks and tires. i hate doing the job, its long, labor intensive and dont pay greatly. 

i have had to legit replace all 4 tires on a truck and go through 7 new tires to get 4 good tires that had acceptable road force measurements. , yes that is 11 tires total to get a set of 4 good ones. 

 

On 9/8/2019 at 6:26 PM, Grumpy Bear said: